Passion is contagious. And the means by which passion is spread is through passionate people. And you won’t find more passion than in poets—especially those at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.

For those who are passionate about poetry, the Dodge Poetry Festival is known as “poetry heaven,” according to www.dodgepoetry.org. The Festival is the largest poetry event in North America and has been held biannually since 1986. Notable poets such as Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Rachel McKibbens, and Aja Monet are included in the Festival’s lineup.

All different kinds of people, ranging from poets, to teachers, to students alike partake in this event to celebrate and express their appreciation for poetry by listening to readings, participate in discussions, and contribute to question and answer sessions.

This year, the Dodge Poetry Festival was held from October 23 – 26 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ, and several AP Literature students in Mrs. Tannous’s class from CB South attended the session on October 24.

AP Literature senior Augusta Zhang said that they “did research and read works of a lot of the poets prior to the trip.” At the actual event, the students were able to watch the poets perform their pieces and meet them after their readings to get autographs and photographs.

“It was an incredibly unique experience—a combination of culture, literature, emotion, and entertainment—unparalleled by any previous field trips I have taken,” said Zhang.

Another AP Literature student who went to the Festival, Jeremy Washam, agreed that it was a “really cool field trip” and added that it also depended on whom they saw. Washam said, “The best session I went to was ‘Poetry and Pride,’ and it was really, really entertaining.”

Deniz Tuncelli, senior class president and AP Literature student who also attended the trip, summed it up by simply saying, “I loved the field trip.”

The passion of the poets was clearly contagious to the AP Literature students who went to the Festival.